KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government is allocating RM474.55 million for human capital development programmes next year, including scholarship and education grants, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
Hajiji said the Sabah government has introduced several initiatives to ease the burden of youths pursuing tertiary education, such as the one-off cash assistance to cover registration fees under the Bantuan Pendaftaran IPT (BUDI) programme.
“The initiatives are being taken because the needs and welfare of students are top on the state government’s agenda,” he said in a statement today.
The statement was made in conjunction with the closing ceremony of the MASISWA Games Sabah Zone 2023 at the University College Sabah Foundation (UCSF) here last night.
Hajiji also called upon private and public higher educational institution students to continue supporting the state’s development process through the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) roadmap to ensure all the development agendas are successfully implemented.
On the latest development of UCSF, Hajiji, who is also UCSF chancellor, said he fully supported the university’s plan to set up campuses outside of Kota Kinabalu.
“As the UCSF chancellor, I am always sensitive to the higher educational development in Sabah and institutions owned by the state government.
“I have taken note of the positive issues announced by the vice-chancellor, and as a follow-up to the state government’s decision to provide research and development funds, I am made to understand that the UCSF Centre for Development Studies is undertaking several researches.
“I believe with the present capability and research strength, UCSF is capable of producing research in various fields of studies,” he added.
On another note, Hajiji said the MASISWA (Majlis Sukan IPTS Malaysia) or inter-private higher education institution (IPTS) Games is the best platform for moulding the ‘Thinking Athlete’.
A total of 1,600 athletes and officials from 17 institutions converged for four days at the host campus, UCSF, to compete in nine events.–Bernama
